Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production, Haroon Akhtar Khan, chaired the 31st board meeting of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) on Friday. The meeting, which was attended by Secretary Industries and Production Saif Anjum, SMEDA CEO Soqrat Aman Rana, and other senior officials, centered on the restructuring of SMEDA in line with directives from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Khan outlined that the new structure of SMEDA would focus on outsourcing models, policy formulation, and program design. Priority areas highlighted include small and medium enterprises, micro-enterprises, women entrepreneurs, and addressing climate-related challenges. He also announced the establishment of regional SMEDA offices in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Regarding the appointment of a new CEO, the board decided that its Human Resource Committee would oversee the selection process, with a focus on merit-based recruitment and transparency. Khan emphasized that SMEDA is a crucial institution with significant potential and that empowering women and micro-enterprises would play a key role in driving economic growth.
